In the City: Edward Fennell

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A “honey-tongued lawyer” has won a patent for the use of Manuka in wound dressings. Will there be a swarm of protest?

Bees knees

Never has the epithet “honey-tongued lawyer” been more appropriate than when
awarded to Richard Miller, QC. Instructed by Reynolds Porter Chamberlain,
the gifted advocate from Three New Square stood up at the Court of Appeal
last week and won a patent for the use of Manuka honey in wound dressings on
behalf of Apimed Medical Honey Ltd.

With its proven antimicrobial properties, Manuka honey is one of those
extraordinary natural remedies that can cure human ailments both inside and
out. But natural justice did not necessarily entitle Apimed to patent its
product. Indeed, the patent was originally found